Carrier In Merchant Navy

The opportunity to travel around the world and the lure of adventure on the high seas, besides the possibility of high remunerations attracts many youngsters to make a career in the Merchant Navy.

A career in the merchant navy is considered a glamorous job, especially by the people who have been bitten by the travel bug. It offers an opportunity to visit new and exotic places all around the globe.
Merchant Navy career is not only monetarily rewarding but also satisfying and a bit challenging. The merchant ships employ a huge number of workers to carry and deliver goods from one country to another.
Merchant navy fleet consist of cargo ships, container ships, barge carrying ships, tankers, bulk carriers, refrigerators ships, passenger ships, as well as roll off/roll on ships. The possibility of finding employment in cargo ships is more as compared to the others.

Reasons Why a Career in Merchant Navy is best in the World.

Lucrative Pay-Packages:

A very big incentive for anyone to take up a profession is the allure of pay-packages and salaries. The merchant navy offers extremely high payment scales, even for fresh entrants in the profession, starting at about US$ 300 and extending up to about US$ 15,000 on a monthly basis. The payment scales are set as per the existing IMO (International Maritime Organisation) and ILO (International Labour Organisation) laws.

Additionally, the salary in merchant navy also varies from company to company and on the basis of the qualification and the position held by an individual.

Merchant Navy is one of the few careers where the salary hardly matters. It can range anywhere between Rs.16000 to Rs.8 lakhs per month though the pay structure differ from company to company, city to city, the export-import needs, seniority etc. All crew members and officers are given free meals on board and senior officers can take along their wives for the voyage.

Usually emolument in a foreign vessels are higher specially the West European, U.S and the Gulf. Every officer and crew of the merchant navy working on board a vessel which is carrying foreign cargo is entitled to 75% of his net earnings in foreign exchange. Besides this, imported liquor, cigarettes, canned foods, cosmetics are available on board duty free.

Tax Benefits:

The interesting fact is that there is no income tax return imposed on the earnings of a merchant navy professional. Paying taxes is a responsibility that everyone is wary of. However, people involved in the merchant marines are exempted from paying taxes, if they meet the requirements necessary for exemption purposes. A merchant marine professional has to spend a minimum of six months on-duty aboard a vessel, following which the professional will be exempt from paying tax for the specified financial year.

Destinations Galore:

People involved in the merchant marines get to experience exotic destinations across the whole world. And since jobs in merchant navy require an individual to spend extended periods of time at sea, there is no dearth of time when it comes to exploring these singular destinations.

Confluence of Cultures:

A professional involved in a merchant marine career gets to meet and mingle with people of different cultures and nationalities. This helps the individual to understand and function better as a team player and learn the nuances of different cultures and traditions at the same time.

Enhances Professionalism:

Working in the merchant navy enables individuals to function better as a unit. Merchant mariners are required to possess good communication skills and extreme resourcefulness, along with following and maintaining high discipline. These qualities are further honed when a person spends considerable amount of time functioning as a part of a novel team in the high seas. A person not only evolves professionally but also personally while working in merchant navy.

Inspiring Adventure:

A career in merchant marines is like having adventures on a day-to-day basis. It�s an adventurous life out there. Other routine jobs, involve people having to spend nine hours in an office. This is not for people who like nine-to-five jobs. Merchant mariners get to explore and view the excellent oceanic vista for days on end which, acts as inspiration unlike any. Not only this, the situations which one faces at sea provide experiences of utmost adventurous types.

Less-demanding Qualifications:

A career in merchant navy can be taken up immediately after clearing the high school examinations with subjects like physics and mathematics. For individuals who do not want to gain higher college education or cannot do so because of certain reasons, taking up a merchant marine career is the most feasible choice. Not only does it provide good pay but also help in molding a better career. Having said that, there are career in merchant navy that requires high qualifications as well.

Regulated life-style:

Punctuality and discipline are two very important qualities that a person gains through a merchant marine career. Since the oceans are highly unpredictable, a seaman has to be highly cautious, focused and alert to counter any eventuality, thereby reducing the repercussions substantially. These two qualities are imbibed in maritime professionals right from their college training. The professionals are expected to follow a strict disciplined lifestyle according to navy rules and are also required to wear navy uniforms throughout their careers. In case you are uniform fan, maritime career is an exciting option for you.

Extended Vacations:

Since the nature of the job requires long working periods, the vacations offered to merchant marine professionals are equally compensating. This enables these professionals to enjoy the best of both worlds land and water. A 2-4 months vacation is definitely long enough to unwind and follow all your passions, isn't it?
People with unbridled enthusiasm and zest for life can very well opt for a merchant marine career. It would be satiating without the person ever experiencing any regrets whatsoever in his profession of choice.